Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, appears to have had a change of heart on Donald Trump.
The conservative columnist wrote in her latest op-ed that Trump is a big factor in the Republican presidential primary and that even those who don’t support him may come around.
“A source of Mr. Trump’s strength is that normal people understand how big donors have an impact on policy,” Noonan wrote. “Mr. Trump can stand where the people stand on such issues as immigration because the donor class doesn’t have hooks in him. … I remember when donors just wanted dinner, or an ambassadorship. Now they want policy. Someone, not just Mr. Trump, should bop them hard.”
Noonan continued, “Something in Mr. Trump himself — the fact that his candidacy has garnered such support in spite of his past and present heterodox stands — has revealed a Republican base that is not as much in lockstep as it has been long portrayed, not as predictable.”
Noonan’s column is a shift from her past position. In early July, Noonan wrote that support for Trump had “a low ceiling and short staying power.”
Trump is leading the Republican field in national polls and some state polls.
